Russell Wilson trade rumors ‘picking up steam’ amid icy staredown

The NFL media tends to run with any offseason story at the first sign of smoke. But with Russell Wilson, it’s becoming clearer every day that with the smoke, there is some fire.

We’ve known for weeks that Wilson wants out of Seattle. The question has always been whether or not the Seahawks will actually pull the trigger on a trade, and what they will need in return if they do so. It seems ludicrous that the Seahawks are even entertaining the notion, but ESPN insider Dianna Russini believes momentum is going in that direction.

“Two months ago, I would have told you there is no chance this is happening, the Seatttle Seahawks are not trading Russell Wilson,” Russini said on ESPN’s “Get Up.”

“But this thing has been picking up steam over the last few weeks. Both sides have done nothing to put this to bed. Russell Wilson has not come out to say that he wants to play for the Seattle Seahawks. The coaching staff and front office have done nothing to say that Russell is our guy the way we’ve seen around the league, other organizations, come out right in front and say this quarterback, lets say Mike Mayock with Derek Carr, or Dave Gettleman with Daniel Jones, this is our guy.

“We have not seen this in Seattle, and those in league circles believe that there is a good chance this could happen if a team is desperate enough to make this trade.”

Russini went on to mention that the Seahawks “have taken phone calls” from teams, which is at least a step ahead of the Texans, who are not even hearing requests for disgruntled QB Deshaun Watson. And that is despite Watson much more aggressive in his trade desires.

As to whether a team would be desperate enough to make the move, the most likely culprit is still the Chicago Bears, who were on Wilson’s list of preferred teams. Russini did mention, however, that the Seahawks would need a solid replacement for Wilson if they were to move on.

The only quarterback the Bears have under contract is Nick Foles, who has been well below average since leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory in 2018.

It also appears that Wilson is ruffling some feathers around the organization – not just in the front office. His former teammate, fullback Michael Robinson, isn’t a fan of how he is airing his frustrations.

“I don’t know what Russell wants,” Robinson said. “He’s paid. They paid him twice in Seattle. The front office made sure that every other alpha male – with the exception of Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright and some of the old school guys that are there – they made sure that all of us were out the door so that this team could be Russell Wilson’s. And now this?”